Hovertravel
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- For information on hovercraft in general, please see hovercraft.
Hovertravel is a ferry company operating from Southsea, Portsmouth to Ryde, Isle of Wight, UK. They are the last company operating in Britain with passenger hovercraft, after Hoverspeed stopped using their craft in favour of catamarans.
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[edit] The route
The company operates between Southsea Common, next to Clarence Pier, and Ryde Esplanade transport interchange. Terminal facilities are provided at both ends, and services run every 30 minutes during daylight hours. However, in high season (generally July and August) the frequency increases to every 15 minutes or less. The crossing time is less than 10 minutes, and is therefore the fastest route across The Solent from land to land. However, the inconvenient site of the Portsmouth terminal means this is not reflected for through journeys.
[edit] Southsea
At Southsea, the terminal is located on Southsea Common, next to Clarance Pier. It is also near tho the aquarium, although further from Southsea Castle. It is also a significant distance from Portsmouth Harbour railway station and Portsmouth and Southsea railway station. This is due to the fact that when the hovercraft started running in the mid 20th century, the area near Harbour station (the ideal location due to its good connections) was a mixture of residential and naval space, with all remaining land occupied by the fishing harbour and Wightlink car ferry terminal.
This problem is solved with a Hoverbus link, which runs between the Southsea Terminal and Portsmouth & Southsea Station and Portsmouth city centre. It is timed to connect with all hovers on the basic 30-minute timetable.
[edit] Ryde
At Ryde, the terminal has recently been rebuilt. The new building was opened by the Duke of Edinburgh in 2004. It is located conveniently near to Ryde Esplanade railway station and Ryde Bus Station, however passengers must cross the railway by means of a footbridge, as they are located on the opposite side of the line. The whole complex is due for rebuilding, commencing in 2007, in order to create a new transport interchange. This will end the rather quaint, but slightly dangerous, feature of buses leaving the bus station by reversing out from their bays! Also nearby is the Ryde Arena ice rink and LA Bowl.
[edit] Connections
Most services connecting with the hovercraft can be found on the entry for Southern Vectis. In addition to their bus routes, WightBus, another local operator run Services 20 and 103 that stop nearby, although not in the interchange, and Island Line trains run from there to Brading, Sandown, Lake and Shanklin, where a connecting bus can take you to Ventnor or St Lawrence. By changing trains at Smallbrook Junction, one can also visit the Isle of Wight Steam Railway.
A recent innovation is the introduction of Hoverline and Hoverliner tickets that allow travel from an origin railway station on the UK mainland, on the Hoverbus, a crossing on the hovercraft and travel on the Island Line, and return journey. These are also available for journeys starting on the Island, the only difference being the name used.
[edit] External links
- http://www.hovertravel.co.uk
- http://www.nationalrail.co.uk - Connecting rail services at Portsmouth and all UK stations
- http://www.islandline.co.uk - Rail services on the Isle of Wight, also covered by National Rail
- http://www.islandbuses.com - New website for Southern Vectis buses on the IoW, due to go live in March 2006
- http://home.codepad.net/~david/access.htm - further information on IoW ferry routes.
